James Stewart's "Ego"

dunn2500 wrote:

i would agree with your theory........actually that phsycology of pro athletes has been proven...........james biggest issue right now is his friggen bike.......it has looked horrible all...

i would agree with your theory........actually that phsycology of pro athletes has been proven...........james biggest issue right now is his friggen bike.......it has looked horrible all season and for the last few years and tonight it was bordering unrideable.....truly he needs to get his chassis/susp issues figured out if he wants a shot or you can expect more crashes..

Hank_Thrill wrote:

First off, hats off to an incredible ride when 95% of the professional racers in the history of the sport would have just rode back to...

First off, hats off to an incredible ride when 95% of the professional racers in the history of the sport would have just rode back to the pits after that crash. I'm also very very glad he was able to walk away from that one. I was really worried, and I didn't even think he would get back on the motorcycle after it happened.

Getting down to the point, I'm a graduate psychology student (who is typing out some thoughts instead of studying for my mid-term at the moment). I just wanted to discuss/type about James Stewart's ego. First off, he has an incredible ego/psyche to reach the level of dominance he has; but I also believe it is responsible for the type of wrecks we saw tonight.

James has gone his entire life dominating races from the amateur ranks, all the way up into the pros, where he would win 125cc mains by twenty seconds effortlessly, and even a few outdoor motos by one whole minute! When someone has that kind of dominance throughout their entire life, they don't get much practice being pressured, and they also develop an ego that perceives itself far superior than the competition (and rightfully so). Even in his last full season racing (2009) he was a notch above the competition, including Reed, and he knew it (chad probably knew it too)! Any athlete of any sport with a history like James' would likely develop the same way: internalizing a core belief that it is far superior than the competition. So no harm in that.

The problem is that when the ego feels threatened or challenged by a rival, whether it be one rider, or five, the ego wants to reassert its dominance as the alpha male (hypothetically, if the 2011competition this year is running the 2009 pace of Stewart, his ego could be motivating him to push his limits even further!). I think tonight was supposed to be one of those "statement" type of races we witnessed at A2. He didn't just want to win by a second or two tonight, he wanted to destroy the competition both mentally and physically. Case in point, he had a pretty good lead on RV2 when he went down, yet he came out of that corner before the wreck like he was in second place behind Ricky Carmichael, circa 2006.

The whole reason I'm posting this topic, is because what James Stewart does the second half of the supercross season is going to be very very interesting. Surely at some point (now is a good time) he needs let some air pressure out of the ego and start riding smart. James still has a shot at the title, but if he lets his ego get in the way and make the decisions - which I believe is causing him to push his limits even further - I predict his win or crash attitude to racing will return and either one of two outcomes will ensue. I pray to God that it won't be more crashes like we saw tonight. I don't know if I did a decent job putting this into words, especially with it being a bit abstract.

Anyways,

Hats off to RV2 on a great ride, and hats off to James, as well.

p.s.
for those who didn't read the whole thing, it was not an attack on James Stewart. Just one person's analysis of a champion's ego.

dunn2500 wrote:

i would agree with your theory........actually that phsycology of pro athletes has been proven...........james biggest issue right now is his friggen bike.......it has looked horrible all...

i would agree with your theory........actually that phsycology of pro athletes has been proven...........james biggest issue right now is his friggen bike.......it has looked horrible all season and for the last few years and tonight it was bordering unrideable.....truly he needs to get his chassis/susp issues figured out if he wants a shot or you can expect more crashes..

skidsteer16 wrote:

"bordering unrideable" :laugh: haha classic ...and I thought my couch was fast. Just imagine what he could do with a rideable bike, he could probably run...

"bordering unrideable" haha classic ...and I thought my couch was fast.

Just imagine what he could do with a rideable bike, he could probably run laps 5 seconds faster than everyone else.

Karma wrote:

so funny! you are being sarcastic and yet if you got him on a nimble bike like a Honda or Suzi instead of that fat unsteerable...

so funny! you are being sarcastic and yet if you got him on a nimble bike like a Honda or Suzi instead of that fat unsteerable pig he would probably ride a few seconds a lap faster.

Karma wrote:

so funny! you are being sarcastic and yet if you got him on a nimble bike like a Honda or Suzi instead of that fat unsteerable...

so funny! you are being sarcastic and yet if you got him on a nimble bike like a Honda or Suzi instead of that fat unsteerable pig he would probably ride a few seconds a lap faster.

skidsteer16 wrote:

Touche.... you have to admit "bordering unrideable" is quite the observation of a bike that ran the fastest lap time by almost 2 seconds.

jndmx wrote:

Interesting points Hank.

The very thing that makes him so unbelievable to watch on a bike is the same thing that may cost him.

BD49 wrote:

if he crashed while jumping "the wall" (which was INSANE) then I think this post might have some legs, but as it stands, he crashed on...

if he crashed while jumping "the wall" (which was INSANE) then I think this post might have some legs, but as it stands, he crashed on a routine obstacle, not trying to do anything special...just fouled up...it happens.

toroP wrote:

x3

nytsmaC wrote:

RV and CR and almost everyone had close calls with their front ends dropping on simple looking track obstacles. James' was a little worse than theirs...

RV and CR and almost everyone had close calls with their front ends dropping on simple looking track obstacles. James' was a little worse than theirs and he couldn't save it. How come there are no threads like this trying to analyze Canard or Metcalf, they crashed too?

James wanted to win by 40 seconds and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm sure everyone else would too if they were capable. I can only imagine how great it must feel to be able to ride like that. If he's comfortable at that speed then why slow down?

The competition is getting closer but JS is still a level above these guys in sheer ability. Nobody else could fathom jumping that wall, and JS couldn't fathom NOT jumping it when he knew it was doable.

Huevos grande.

vetrcr wrote:

Before you start your psychoanalysis of elite athletes, maybe you should provide a list of some of your athletic accomplishments.

Karma wrote:

You mean like all the great professional coaches in B-ball, football etc who where avg at best on the feild. Gretzky was the greatest hockey player...

You mean like all the great professional coaches in B-ball, football etc who where avg at best on the feild. Gretzky was the greatest hockey player of all time, and yet was an awful coach. In fact the year after he quit, the Coyotes are kicking ass!!!

So, maybe you should analyze the big picture. or at least try and think a bit before you post such stupidity.
And for what its worth, I raced Pro for 10 years.

Outsider wrote:

Anyone notice that a lot of James' crashes happen when he's out front or when doing something routine, like a corner or normal triple and not...

Anyone notice that a lot of James' crashes happen when he's out front or when doing something routine, like a corner or normal triple and not when doing something insane, like a quad, or the wall jump?

Seems like when the adrenaline isn't flowing he loses focus and makes mistakes.

JMO

RaceFace wrote:

I think he has to focus so much on the insane obstacles, that his mind is wandering on other areas of the track. Maybe he's so...

I think he has to focus so much on the insane obstacles, that his mind is wandering on other areas of the track. Maybe he's so good that he falls asleep sometimes on the easy obstacles because they are so boring to him?